“Ammunition supplies” of Russian forts of the early 18th century in the Novosibirsk Ob region according to written and archaeological data

The article describes “ammunition supplies” of the Novosibirsk Ob region in the early 18th century. This artillery resource included sets of cannonballs in a number of forts, such as Fort Urtam, Fort Umreva, Fort Chaus, and Fort Berdsk. According to the written sources, availability of such reserves was not typical of all these forts. However, archaeological research has made it possible to establish a fairly large collection of cannonballs of various sizes for Fort Umreva, clearly reflecting the presence of several cannons in this fort. No less productive was mapping of finds of individual cannonballs in the Novosibirsk Ob region. Finds of cannonballs not only confirm the presence of artillery stocks in the forts, but also serves as indirect evidence of various cannon barrels present there, even if there was no records of these weapons in the written sources of the time. Cannonballs were found in close proximity of forts (Forts Umreva, Chaus, and Berdsk), in their vicinity, or far beyond the known forts of the Upper Ob Region. Such topography of cannonballfinds clearly reflects specific functional features of these items. Location of cannonballs in fort areas is associated with their initial placement as a part of fort artillery supplies. Finds of cannonballs at great distance from the forts indicate that these items were mobile and multifunctional outside the military field.